Department for Transport

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people died on the roads in each region in incidents where a driver was using a mobile telephone in each of the last three years.

Andrew Jones: The Department holds information on the number of personal-injury road traffic accidents where the attending police officer judged that a driver using a mobile telephone contributed to the accident. This includes both cases where 'hand held' and 'hands free' telephones were deemed to contribute to the accident. The table below provides the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents that were reported to the police in which at least one driver was allocated the contributory factor ‘driver using mobile phone’ by region for 2012 to 2014.Fatalities in reported road accidents in which the contributory factor 'driver using mobile phone' was reported: GB, 2012-2014Region201220132014North East211North West121Yorkshire and the Humber251East Midlands114West Midlands220East of England123South East329London101South West241Wales122Scotland151Total172624Note: Includes only casualties where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) enforcement cases and (b) out-of-court settlements there were for non-payment of vehicle tax between (i) October 2013 and June 2014 and (ii) October 2014 and June 2015.

Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employs a range of enforcement activities including reminder letters, out-of-court settlements, wheelclamping or prosecutions. There were 609,938 cases eligible for enforcement action between October 2013 and June 2014. Of these, 135,456 were settled by way of an out-of-court settlement payment. Between October 2014 and June 2015 there were 757,086 cases eligible for enforcement action with 161,117 reconciled by way of an out-of-court settlement payment.

Bus Services: Schools

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2015 to Question 11430, what steps his Department took before 15 September 2015 in relation to bus operators who submitted claims for Bus Service Operators Grant funding to support closed bus services.

Andrew Jones: In considering claims from bus operators for Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) for the bus services that they run, my department analyses each claim to ensure that these meet the eligibility criteria for the grant scheme, including those relating to services which serve educational establishments. Where we receive claims that we consider to be ineligible for BSOG – for instance closed services - and where operators are unable to demonstrate that they are eligible, the claims are disallowed. The eligibility criteria for the scheme are printed on the forms which operators must fill in and submit to the department in order to claim the grant.

Motor Vehicles: Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been received from fines generated from vehicle clamping or instant removal for non-payment of vehicle excise duty in Northern Ireland between (a) 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014 and (b) 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015; and what proportion of this income has been retained in or returned to Northern Ireland.

Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not record the revenue generated from vehicle excise duty enforcement action carried out in Northern Ireland separately to that from the rest of the UK. Therefore, the information requested is not available. The DVLA passes all revenue generated from such enforcement action to HM Treasury.

Heathrow Airport

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential change in risk of flooding in South East England if Heathrow Airport expansion were to proceed.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on flood risk, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor the use of drones in UK airspace.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Civil Aviation Authority keeps a record of all the permissions they have issued to fly commercial drones in UK airspace. However this does not extend to leisure users of drones. To address this issue The Department for Transport is currently looking at a range of options including regulation, registration and licensing options and a database to increase transparency on the use of drones for the general public. We intend to consult on all of these issues and other possible solutions in 2016.

Parking: Greater London

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation to prevent pavement parking in London.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received from local authorities, charities and disability groups on pavement parking.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle vehicle parking on pavements.

Andrew Jones: Local authorities are best placed to assess the need for pavement parking controls in their area and the effectiveness of any restrictions in place. It would be for the relevant traffic authorities to conduct an assessment of legislation specific to London.Last year this Department received around a thousand communications from Guide Dogs campaigners in support of two Private Members’ Bills on pavement parking. Departmental officials met with Guide Dogs officials as recently as 13 October this year.Local authorities already have the powers to introduce enforceable pavement parking restrictions where they consider it appropriate. My Department’s guidance to local authorities makes clear that, during the appraisal of their parking policies, an authority should consider whether pavement parking is problematic in any part of its area. If it is, and is not covered by an existing Traffic Regulation Order, the authority should consider amending the existing Order or making a new one. We have issued councils with authorisation to place specifically designed traffic signs without the need for Whitehall approval.

Felixstowe-Nuneaton Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2015 to Question 10029, which schemes referred to in that Answer have been paused by Network Rail.

Claire Perry: The Secretary of State announced on 25 June 2015 the pause of work on Midland Main Line electrification and TransPennine electrification.On 30 September 2015 he announced that work on these schemes would resume.Whilst Sir Peter Hendy completes his review of Network Rail’s Enhancements programme, the efficient and cost effective delivery of other projects is a matter for Network Rail to manage.

Railways: Finance

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 11601, which was the senior committee of his Department that met on 23 March 2015 and was referred to in that Answer.

Claire Perry: The senior committee referred to in the answer of 16 October to question 11601 is the Board Investment and Commercial Committee.

Bus Services: Regulation

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it is his policy to make available proposed new powers to regulate bus networks to local authorities that do not have a metro mayor.

Andrew Jones: Local Authorities already have the powers to regulate their bus networks through the Quality Contract Scheme process set out in the Transport Act 2000, as amended by the Local Transport Act 2008.We have now signed ground-breaking deals with Greater Manchester, Cornwall, and Sheffield, in which we committed to providing them with powers to franchise their bus services. The Buses Bill will be introduced later in the first session and will provide the powers for local transport authorities to regulate their local bus networks through a franchising process subject to agreement from government.Government has real ambition to improve public transport in other areas too, and our devolution plans go beyond Manchester, Cornwall and Sheffield. If other places want to come forward with attractive devolution deals that include bus franchising we will consider them.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 11759, if he will place a copy of the report compiled by EY in connection with changes to Network Rail in the Library.

Claire Perry: The work referenced in Question 11759 was commissioned in order to inform a range of policy options. This work is ongoing, and therefore we will not be placing it in the House Library.

Airports

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from the Cabinet Secretary on airport capacity.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Ministers receive advice from officials on a wide range of issues.

Railway Stations: Wheelchairs

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that all railway stations in (a) Liverpool Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool City region and (c) England and Wales are wheelchair accessible.

Claire Perry: Whenever the rail industry carries out infrastructure work at stations it is required to meet the latest UK and EU accessibility standards.We have also extended the Access for All programme, which will have provided step free access at over 200 stations by 2019. In Liverpool Walton both Fazkerley and Orrel Park have been completed. In the wider Liverpool City area Liverpool Central, Sandhills, Birkenhead North, Formby, Hooton, Meols and Waterloo have also been included in the programme.

Train Operating Companies: Subsidies

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of public subsidy for train operators in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Actual figures for public subsidy are published on the Office of Rail and Road’s (‘ORR’) website at http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/browsereports/1.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing Benefit

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential (a) economic and (b) health effects of the provisions of the Housing and Planning Bill on people who receive housing benefit and who are subject to the benefit cap in each of the next five years.

Brandon Lewis: The Government will continue to assess the impacts of the Housing and Planning Bill as it progresses through Parliament. We will publish our assessments on Parliament's website at:http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/housingandplanning/documents.html.These will be updated as further assessments are undertaken.

Community Relations

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the measures contained within the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation's European Model Law for the promotion of tolerance and the suppression of intolerance.

Mr Marcus Jones: In the UK we have a strong legal framework against all forms of hate crime and discrimination. Many of the aims suggested in the European Model Law for the promotion of tolerance and the addressing of intolerance are reflected in our current approach and we welcome input and views on how we can improve our work.

Private Rented Housing

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a requirement that private landlords have a certificate confirming their accommodation has reached a minimum condition before it can be let.

Brandon Lewis: Local Authorities have powers under the Housing Act 2004 to assess the risks and hazards in properties, and to require landlords or owners to remove hazards, and to prosecute if they fail to do so. If a property is found to contain serious hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action in relation to the hazard. This could include serving a notice for the landlord to carry out improvements.The Government wants to crack down further on the small minority of rogue and criminal landlords who exploit their tenants by renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation and are taking forward proposals through the Housing and Planning Bill. The legislation will enable local authorities to:access a database of rogue landlords and letting agents helping councils keep track of them and target enforcement action;seek banning orders for the most prolific and serious offenders;issue civil penalty notices of up to £5,000 for certain breaches of housing legislation, ring-fencing resources for housing compliance activity;extend Rent Repayment Orders to cover situations where a tenant has been illegally evicted, the landlord has failed to rectify a serious health and safety hazard in the property or has breached a banning order, allowing local authorities to retain the money for housing purposes.apply a more stringent ‘fit and proper’ person test for landlords letting out licensed properties.The majority of landlords in the private rented sector provide decent accommodation with surveys showing that 84% of tenants are satisfied with their accommodation, and staying in their homes for an average of 3.5 years.

Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what forecast he has made of whether the total stock of local authority homes will increase or decrease in the next five years.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 22 October 2015



Whilst we have made no forecast of what the stock of council homes will be over the next 5 years, I do note that more council houses have been built since 2010 than were built in the entire 13 years of a Labour Government.

Private Rented Housing: Electrical Safety

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandatory electrical safety checks for dwellings in the private rented sector.

Brandon Lewis: Landlords are already under a general legal duty to ensure that electrical installations in the property are safe and kept in good working order. The Government published the How to Rent guide which recommends that electrical installations are checked every 5 years. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' Code of Practice on the letting and management of property makes clear that landlords must repair and keep in proper working order installations for the supply of electricity. In addition, local authorities already have strong powers to deal with unsafe property conditions and we expect them to be used.The Government believes that the current regulatory framework, which puts a duty on landlords to ensure electrical installations in the property are safe, provides an adequate level of protection. We do not, therefore, have any plans to introduce a requirement for regular checks. However, we will keep the situation under review.

Housing: Construction

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued to public bodies on the provision of social and affordable housing within any developments on land such bodies have sold for residential development.

Brandon Lewis: The National Planning Policy Framework requires local authorities to plan to meet the market and affordable housing needs in their area. Local authorities are expected to work closely with key partners and their local communities in deciding what type of housing is needed and where housing development should take place. Irrespective of the landowner, planning permissions must be determined in accordance with the Local Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Central departments are committed to releasing surplus land they own to help meet local housing needs, with a goal of delivering 150,000 homes by 2020 and my Department will be playing a full part in this.

Right to Buy Scheme: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the number of homes in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency which were sold under Right to Buy legislation and which have subsequently become privately rented properties.

Brandon Lewis: No estimate has been made as to how many homes sold under the Right to Buy have become private rented properties.What a Right to Buy owner chooses to do with their property after they've bought it is up to them, just as it is for other home buyers on the open market. Mortgage providers and landlords may place restrictions on letting in the terms of the sale.Under Right to Buy there are financial restrictions in place for re-sale within 5 years, and councils have the right of first refusal to buy back the property for up to 10 years at market value.

Housing: Construction

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the availability of (a) raw materials and (b) skilled labour in the construction industry on the Government's housing targets; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Government’s Housing Implementation Task Force meets regularly to review issues, such as the availability of skills, relating to the delivery of new homes and industry reports such as the Construction Sector Network reports, produced by the Construction Industry Training Board, provide an indication of the skills the construction industry believes it will require between 2015 and 2019 for housing and wider construction. Statistics maintained by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills allow us to monitor key flows of construction materials such as bricks.

Homes and Communities Agency

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the Homes and Communities Agency in respect of its duties on (a) land disposals and (b) allocating and choosing partners for developing (i) brownfield and (ii) other land for residential use; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Department regularly reviews the Homes and Communities Agency’s performance to ensure that both the Agency and the Department’s Accounting Officer responsibilities are satisfied.Over the last Parliament the Homes and Communities Agency disposed of land with capacity for 20,930 homes, exceeding their plan. Whilst the Agency has a panel of preferred development partners, selected through a gateway approvals process, it is not tied to using this panel and will make a decision between engaging the development partner panel or securing a partner on the open market.An independent assessment of the efficacy of the Home and Communities Agency's work will be commissioned following the Spending Review and will include consideration of how the Agency performs its functions in respect of land. I expect findings from that review to report in the spring.

Housing: Wheelchairs

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of wheelchair accessible (a) homes, (b) flats and (c) bungalows which will be built in each of the next five years.

Brandon Lewis: Local authorities are best placed to understand the housing needs in their area. We expect them to work closely with key partners and their local communities in deciding what type of housing is needed.National policy sets out clearly the need for local authorities to plan for the housing needs of all members of the community and that planning should encourage accessibility. The introduction of optional requirements for accessibility in the Building Regulations provides local authorities with the tools needed to ensure that new homes are accessible and that in particular the needs of disabled people are met.At the same time as introducing these new optional requirements, we amended planning guidance to provide further advice on how they should be applied through local planning policy. We also published a data sheet setting out information and statistics on older and disabled peoples’ needs to act as a starting point for local authorities wishing to develop suitable policies.An impact assessment supporting implementation of the Housing Standards Review estimated, for appraisal purposes, an indicative rate of construction of accessible housing in the period 2015 to 2025 - the impact assessment and accompanying documents can be found at the link below;https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-standards-review-final-implementation-impact-assessment.

Housing: Construction

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 11946, if his Department will provide additional funding for local authorities to assist them in building new homes; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Government provides an annual settlement to local authorities in England to fund delivery of key local services. Since 2013/14 authorities have retained any council tax raised on new homes built. In addition, the Coalition Government introduced the New Homes Bonus, which has to date allocated some £3.4 billion of funding to local authorities to recognise delivery of over 700,000 homes and over 100,000 long term empty properties returned to use.The 2012 Housing Revenue Account self-financing settlement gave local authorities the freedom to plan their housing businesses in the long term. In the 3 years between 2012/13 and 2014/15 councils built 3,630 local authority dwellings. 2014 saw the highest number of council housing starts for 23 years (2,630 dwellings). In 2015/16 and 2016/17 we are also providing 36 local authorities with almost £222 million of additional borrowing headroom to develop over 3,000 additional homes.Future spending priorities will be determined through the Spending Review process currently underway.

Housing: Construction

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Small and Medium Enterprise builders fund; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Builders Finance Fund was launched in April 2014. We have already signed 8 contracts worth over £11 million, with a further 33 contracts worth £70 million in the process of being signed. In addition, we are considering 83 bids for funding worth nearly £280 million. The remaining funding is available to support house builders between now and 2017.

Private Rented Housing: Construction

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the performance of Build to Rent projects; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Build to Rent fund provides development finance to support the creation of a purpose-built private rented sector, backed by institutional private investment. The fund is market-led and the response has been strong.As at the end of September, there were 15 schemes in contract with the Homes and Communities Agency, representing £455 million of investment from the Build to Rent Fund, and which are expected to deliver over 4,000 housing units. In addition, a further 8 schemes seeking up to £378 million of investment have been shortlisted and are undergoing their approval process, potentially delivering up to an additional 2,950 housing units.As at the end of September, a total of 13 schemes – representing 2,631 housing units – receiving finance through the Build to Rent fund had started on site.

Local Government Finance: North West

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much was paid by (a) the Police Federation, (b) UNISON and (c) other trades unions to each council in the North West in 2014.

Mr Marcus Jones: This information is not held centrally.

Carbon Emissions: Housing

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote zero carbon housing.

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what timescale he has set for the completion of the next tranche of zero carbon housing.

James Wharton: As detailed in the Productivity Plan - ‘Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation’ - the Government will not be implementing zero carbon homes. The zero carbon homes standard, in particular the ‘allowable solutions’ carbon off-setting element, would have placed a significant regulatory burden on the house building industry.The energy performance standards for new homes were strengthened by over 30% during the last Parliament. The latest changes to standards came into force last year and it is important for those changes to be given time to bed in.The Government is keeping the energy standards for homes under review and must also meet its obligations under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. As part of this the Government must report to the European Commission in 2017 on whether UK building standards are ‘cost optimal’ and ensure that all new buildings are ‘nearly zero energy buildings’ from 2021.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Islamic State: Cultural Heritage

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent ISIL from destroying valuable historical sites in Palmyra and elsewhere.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 21 October 2015.The correct answer should have been:

The UK strongly condemns ISIL’s wanton destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq, including in Palmyra. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office helped secure UN Security Council Resolution 2199 which obliges all UN Member States to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural property that has been illegally removed from those countries.But strong words and legal frameworks are not enough. As a key player in the Global Counter ISIL Coalition, the UK is committed to degrading and defeating ISIL, including through military action. By checking ISIL’s advance, the Coalition’s air campaign and support for partner military forces in Iraq and Syria has had the effect of protecting key historical sites in both countries. However, there is inevitably a limit to what we can do. The only way of safeguarding all historic sites from ISIL is by defeating them politically and militarily. That requires continued effort by the Global Coalition, as well as a more inclusive political settlement in Iraq, and an end to the conflict in Syria.On 28 October I will be co-hosting a summit with the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove Maldon (Mr WhittingdaleJavid) on Cultural Heritage Protection.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK strongly condemns ISIL’s wanton destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq, including in Palmyra. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office helped secure UN Security Council Resolution 2199 which obliges all UN Member States to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural property that has been illegally removed from those countries.But strong words and legal frameworks are not enough. As a key player in the Global Counter ISIL Coalition, the UK is committed to degrading and defeating ISIL, including through military action. By checking ISIL’s advance, the Coalition’s air campaign and support for partner military forces in Iraq and Syria has had the effect of protecting key historical sites in both countries. However, there is inevitably a limit to what we can do. The only way of safeguarding all historic sites from ISIL is by defeating them politically and militarily. That requires continued effort by the Global Coalition, as well as a more inclusive political settlement in Iraq, and an end to the conflict in Syria.On 28 October I will be co-hosting a summit with the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove Maldon (Mr WhittingdaleJavid) on Cultural Heritage Protection.

Counter-terrorism

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral statement of 7 September 2015, Official Report, column 30, on counter-terrorism, whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's legal adviser was consulted on the legal basis for the military action against Reyaad Khan in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Successive Governments have upheld the principle of legal professional privilege, which means they do not disclose whether legal advice has been sought, or the content of any such advice that may have been obtained. I would also refer you to the Attorney General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam’s (Jeremy Wright) answer of 12 October (PQ 10450).

State Visits: Egypt

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to Question 4073, on what date the planned visit of President Sisi of Egypt to the UK will take place; and whether he plans to discuss the supply of military, security and police equipment with President Sisi during his visit.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has invited President Sisi to the UK and the visit will take before the end of this year. Discussions will take place with President Sisi on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including trade and security.

Libya: Freezing of Assets

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to distribute a proportion of the frozen assets of the Muammar Gaddafi administration in the UK to the families of people killed (a) by Libyan-supplied semtex and weapons and (b) on flight LW1103.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There is no legal basis upon which the UK could re-direct frozen Libyan assets or the interest accrued to individuals for the purposes of compensation. Regarding assets which belonged to Qadhafi or other regime figures, the UN Security Council has stipulated that when these are unfrozen, they will be made available to, and for the benefit of the Libyan people. For the duration of time that these assets are frozen, they and any interest they accrue will be governed in accordance with the specific sanctions in place over the individuals or entities to which the assets belong. In this case, the asset freezing measures are set out under EU Regulation 204/2011 which prohibits the release of frozen funds and the interest accrued belonging to listed individuals or entities except in very specific circumstances, which do not apply here.

Middle East: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to assist Middle East countries in learning lessons from Tunisia in overcoming political instability.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As Tunisia continues to demonstrate, long-term stability can only be achieved through peaceful dialogue and building legitimate and inclusive institutions. We are using our diplomatic influence, practical programming assistance, training and capacity building to support other countries in the region to do this. Through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), we are working to tackle conflict and support reforms to build more open and inclusive government. Middle East and North Africa’s £136m allocation (for FY 15-16) supports projects in areas such as conflict management, security sector reform and civil society capacity building. Our £6m (for FY 15-16) Arab Partnership Fund for Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia supports the development of legitimate and inclusive institutions, including civil society, parliaments, media and judiciaries. The UK also works with international partners through the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy and the Deauville Partnership to support political and economic development programmes in Arab Countries in Transition, aimed at fostering longer term prosperity and stability.

Egypt: Travel Information

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the implications for his Department's advice on travel to Egypt are of the accidental killing of foreign tourists in that country on 13 September 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As stated in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Travel Advice for Egypt, in September 2015 Egyptian security forces mistakenly killed 12 members of a tour group, including 8 Mexicans, in the Western Desert area of Al-Wahat.Before the incident, FCO Travel Advice already advised against all but essential travel to this area of the country. After the incident, we made a factual update to the Travel Advice in order to make British Nationals aware of the incident, so they are able to make an informed decision on travel to the area.We keep our travel advice under constant review, based on robust and up to date information and analysis from our experts in country.

Israel: Palestinians

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received from his Israeli counterpart on the recent violence in that region; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As I said in my statement of 13 October, the UK Government remains extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories so far this month. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) also made a statement on 9 October condemning the violence.Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to the Israeli government, urging them to de-escalate the tensions.On 16 October, the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser spoke to Israel’s National Security Adviser and reiterated the need for both sides to do everything in their power to calm the situation. On 19 October, the Director of the Middle East and North Africa Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spoke to the Israeli Chargé D’Affaires to London, including about the recent violence.Our Embassy in Tel Aviv receives regular updates from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 19 October, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv raised our concerns on the recent violence with the Israeli Cabinet Secretary. Most recently, our Defence Attaché to Tel Aviv received a briefing from the Israeli Defence Forces on 21 October on the number of attacks they have so recorded in this latest outbreak of violence.

Cleaning Services: Living Wage

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with Interserve on the inappropriateness of disciplinary action taken against cleaners who wrote to him requesting a living wage.

Mr David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have been in contact with Interserve and have asked them to comment on allegations that Interserve cleaners had been disciplined for writing to the Foreign Secretary in July. Interserve informed the FCO that they had instigated an investigation to establish whether the letter breached their confidentiality agreement with staff. Interserve has since confirmed that their investigation has concluded and that no disciplinary action will be taken against any of the signatories to the letter.

China: Family Planning

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on the sex-selective abortion of female unborn children in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect the one-child policy has had on the prevalence of forced abortions, infanticide and involuntary sterilisation in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on human rights in China with President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on the disability-selective abortion of unborn children in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire: We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Welsh Language

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department will make available the first draft of the Cabinet Office's Welsh Language Scheme as required by the Welsh Language Act 1993.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Interserve

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what contracts Government departments hold with Interserve PLC and Developments.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Business: Human Rights

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the progress achieved by the UK Business and Human Rights Action Plan against the aims and objectives set out in it.

Anna Soubry: Progress on the UK’s National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is covered in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy annual report, last published in March 2015. We have made considerable progress, for example on improved reporting requirements. We will continue to update our action plan, reflecting the progress we have made as well as covering other related action taking place across Government such as the Modern Slavery Act.

Tata Steel: Redundancy

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he was first made aware of the fact that job losses were likely at TATA Steel in Scunthorpe and Lanarkshire; and what assessment he has made of the economic effect on (a) the local community and (b) the supply chain of those job losses.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills were given final details of the planned closures and associated redundancies on 8 October on a commercially sensitive basis. Our main priority now is to support the workers and the families of those who have lost their jobs. We have established a local task force led by Liz Redfern, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, to consider what action needs to be taken to support the local economy and related supply chain following this announcement and the Government stands ready to provide help.

Caparo Industries

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he was first made aware of the fact that Caparo Industries was facing significant difficulties and was likely to enter administration.

Anna Soubry: We received confirmation of these developments when PwC announced on 19th October 2015 that a team of Administrators, partners and directors from PwC had been appointed Joint Administrators over certain companies within the Caparo Industries group.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Data Protection

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the implementation of the proposed General Data Protection Regulation; and what estimate he has made of the potential liability of his Department in connection with that proposed Regulation.

Alun Cairns: Negotiations on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation are still continuing and our negotiating position has taken into account the likely impact on Government Departments, NDPBs and agencies. Once the outcome of trilogue negotiations between the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Commission are complete, and the Regulation has been adopted, the liabilities will be further assessed. There will then follow a maximum implementation period of two years. Between now and then, Government departments who will be affected by the Regulation are closely involved in work led by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to consider the implications of the text as it develops through the negotiating process.

Department for Education

Further Education: Yorkshire and the Humber

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding was allocated to further education in (a) Yorkshire and (b) Leeds in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The department does not hold all of the information requested. However, those institutions that are funded for Further Education provision through the Education Funding Agency are included in data published on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-education-funding-allocations

Pupil Exclusions

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in each local authority area were excluded from school on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Edward Timpson: The number of permanent exclusions and the number of pupils with one or more fixed period exclusion by local authority area in England is published in the “Permanent and fixed period exclusions in England: 2013 to 2014”[1] National Statistics release.The required information is available in Tables 19 and 20 of the “Local authority tables: SFR27/2015”. Please open the “Local authority tables: SFR27/2015”.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2013-to-2014

Children: Education

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in each local authority area were not in full-time mainstream education and were in (a) part-time education, (b) pupil referral units, (c) home schooling and (d) other placements on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The number of pupils in part-time education, pupil referral units or alternative provision in each local authority can be calculated from the underlying school level data within the Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2015 statistics[1]. The department does not hold data which distinguish between home schooled pupils and those in other placements.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015 - the file named ‘SFR16_2015_Schools_Pupils_UD’ should be used to calculate part time pupils and those in pupil referral units, and the file named ‘SFR16_2015_LA_level_APcensus_UD’ for pupils in alternative provision.

Teachers: Training

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of reducing bursaries for post-graduate primary teacher training on teacher recruitment.

Nick Gibb: We want to attract the best and brightest graduates into the profession. Teaching remains a hugely popular career with more teachers in England’s classrooms than ever before and record levels of top graduates entering the profession. Bursaries are designed to incentivise applications in subjects where it is difficult to recruit. We review annually the recruitment performance and demand in all subjects to inform bursary levels. In 2015/16 primary initial teacher training recruitment is set to surpass our target.

Academies: Inspections

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what dates each school within the Inspiration Trust academy chain was first told of the dates of its Ofsted inspection in 2014-15; on what dates the inspections of each such school took place.

Nick Gibb: I am informed by Ofsted that five academies within the Inspiration Trust had inspections in 2014/15. Two of these, Great Yarmouth Primary Academy and Hethersett Academy, had no formal designation inspections which were conducted without notice. Two academies had routine section 5 inspections; the Thetford Academy received notification on 3 December 2014 and was inspected on 4 - 5 December 2014 and East Point Academy received notification on 2 March 2015 and was inspected on 3 - 4 March 2015.Sir Isaac Newton Sixth Form Free School was inspected in accordance with statutory requirements for 16-19 academies under the framework for inspection of further education and skills provision. The Academy was notified on 27 February 2015 and inspected between 3 and 6 March 2015, in line with normal arrangements for further education and skills providers.

Teachers: Training

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when it was decided to reduce the bursary for post-graduate primary teacher training; and what steps she has taken to communicate that decision to potential applicants for such training.

Nick Gibb: Bursary incentives are reviewed every year in response to recruitment performance and the need for new teachers in the coming years.This year the new bursary rates were announced on 1st October 2015, and publicised subsequently through the “Get into Teaching” website and advertised on social media.

Schools: West Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that schools in West Sussex are delivering educational excellence.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of Key Stage 2 results in West Sussex.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 23 October 2015



Provisional information on the latest Key Stage 2 results in West Sussex and other local authorities is published as part of the “National curriculum assessments: key stage 2, 2015 (provisional)” release[1].These indicate that 77% of pupils in West Sussex local authority achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics, below the national average of 80%. This is down from 78% in 2013/14.In the same year, 21% of pupils in West Sussex local authority achieved level 5 or above in reading, writing and mathematics, below the national average of 24%. This is down from 22% in 2013/14.Since the phonics check was introduced in West Sussex, the proportion of children who achieve the expected standard has risen each year to 73% in 2015. This remains, however, below the national average of 77%.Standards in some West Sussex schools are currently too low. I have therefore written to West Sussex County Council, asking them to set out their plans to improve results, so that more children in West Sussex receive the standard of education to which they are entitled.This is part of our national plan to raise standards, by setting higher expectations in our curriculum and qualifications; creating a self-improving school system; and promoting strong school governance through academies and free schools. We are also committed to making sure schools are funded fairly so all pupils have access to a good education – a key part of our core mission ensure every child reaches their full potential.[1] 2014/15 provisional local authority level tables can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/456135/SFR30_2015_KS2_LA_Tables.xls

Schools: Finance

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effects on the worst funded schools of adjusting the percentage applied in the calculation of the Minimum Funding Guarantee.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The minimum funding guarantee protects schools from significant changes in their funding, limiting the year-on-year reductions in a school’s pupil-led funding to 1.5%.The minimum funding guarantee for schools will continue to be set at minus 1.5% per pupil for 2016-17. We have committed to making funding fairer, but we cannot comment on the detail of proposals prior to the outcome of the Spending Review.

Pupil Premium

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what amount of pupil premium paid was not spent in the year it was paid in each of the last four years; what proportion of the total spending on pupil premium that amounted to in each of those years; and what estimate she has made of the total amount of pupil premium carried over in each of those years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The department does not collect information from schools and academies on the amounts of the pupil premium spent in any given year nor the amount carried forward to future years.Local Authorities are obliged to provide an annual assurance that all pupil premium funding paid to them has been distributed appropriately. Schools and academies are also required to publish how much pupil premium funding they have received; what they have spent this on; and what impact this has had on the attainment of those pupils under the scope of the grant. This information is published annually, on their websites.Whilst we do not collect the specific information requested, we do publish the pupil premium allocations themselves and they are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations

Free School Meals

Richard  Arkless: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Government's proposed changes to tax credits on the number of children able to access free school meals.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The government’s changes to tax credits will have no effect on the number of children accessing free school meals (FSM) in England. All households receiving out-of-work benefits continue to be entitled to FSM, while changes to Child Tax Credit will have no impact. The number of children growing up in workless households has decreased by 480,000 since 2010, a record low. This has led to the number of households claiming FSM decreasing and we expect this to continue as the economy continues to improve.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Proceedings: Fees and Charges

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the Criminal Court Charge.

Mr Shailesh Vara: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 22 October 2015.The correct answer should have been:

As the Secretary of State stated to the House on 8 September, we have been made aware of widespread concern about the operation of the Criminal Courts Charge, but it is important to stress that the Charge is levied or taken from the offender only after other impositionsfines have been paid. It is important to note that statutory protections are in place so that the payment of the Charge in due course should be linked to the offender's means. Within the Bill there was a duty placed on the Lord Chancellor to carry out a review of the Criminal Courts Charge, three years after the implementation of the Charge.

Mr Shailesh Vara: As the Secretary of State stated to the House on 8 September, we have been made aware of widespread concern about the operation of the Criminal Courts Charge, but it is important to stress that the Charge is levied or taken from the offender only after other impositionsfines have been paid. It is important to note that statutory protections are in place so that the payment of the Charge in due course should be linked to the offender's means. Within the Bill there was a duty placed on the Lord Chancellor to carry out a review of the Criminal Courts Charge, three years after the implementation of the Charge.

Medway Secure Training Centre: Teachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Medway Secure Training Centre has contacted an external teaching agency to request a teacher since it was awarded the contract.

Andrew Selous: G4S, which holds the current contract for Medway Secure Training Centre, has once used an external teaching agency to recruit one member of teaching staff.Prior to 2010 education at Medway was provided by Manchester College. Information on this provider’s use of agency staff is not held centrally.All STC staff, both temporary and permanent, must undergo background checks and be approved by the Youth Justice Board prior to appointment.

Young Offender Institutions: Teachers

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many teachers currently work in young offender institutions; and how many of those teachers lack teaching qualifications.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many teachers working in young offender institutions are qualified to work with young people with (a) special educational needs, (b) autism and (c) mental health issues.

Andrew Selous: The information requested is not held centrally.

Prisoners: Nutrition

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the nutritional adequacy of meals served to the prison population; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has responsibility for providing instructions to all prisons on the provision of meals for prisoners. The most recent guidelines are published athttp://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/offenders/psipso/psi-2010/psi-2010-44-catering.doc.NOMS recognises the importance of a balanced diet through regular meals and the major contribution this makes to the physical, mental and social wellbeing of prisoners.

Motor Vehicles: Lighting

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 11221, how many prosecutions or fixed penalty notifications have occurred for non emergency vehicles displaying static blue lighting in the last three years for which figures are available.

Mike Penning: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Young Offenders

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many under-18 year olds in prison have been starred up in each prison in each month during each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous: Starring up is the term used to define the process whereby young people under the age of 18 can be moved into the young adult estate prior to their eighteenth birthday. The starring up process can be used for a range of reasons, but past usage has mainly been in relating to the management of disruptive or violent behaviour or transfers to Mother and Baby Units.In practice, the starring up process is rarely used and then only in exceptional circumstances.No young person has been starred-up into the young adult estate since January 2014. Data in relation to the number of young people who were starred-up into the young adult estate in the three years prior to that, broken down by the establishment they were starred-up from and the month in which the decision was made is provided in the tables below.2011JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAshfield11Hindley1Wetherby112012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecFeltham1Eastwood Park1Warren Hill12013JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecWarren Hill1

Foston Hall Prison: Suicide

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people (a) attempted to take and (b) took their own lives at Foston Hall Prison, Derbyshire, was in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: Information on all deaths in prison custody and self-harm incidents, including at HMP Foston Hall, can be found in the Safety in Custody statistics which are published quarterly at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics.NOMS does not record ‘attempted suicide’ as a category of incident as the intention of the prisoner may not be known reliably.

Ministry of Defence

Trident

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's latest estimate is of (a) the whole life programme cost of the Successor programme, (b) capital costs associated with (i) submarine acquisition, (ii) Trident missile renewal and (iii) basing facilities, (c) the running and support costs of the Successor fleet and associated capability to protect and sustain it, (d) all future costs associated with the Atomic Weapons Establishment maintaining a capability to maintain an on-going nuclear warhead design capability and (e) decommissioning costs.

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department last carried out an assessment of the whole life cost of the Successor programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: The 2014 Update to Parliament set out an estimate for the Successor submarine acquisition of around £25 billion, based on a four boat solution, spread over some 25 years. These estimates are currently being refreshed to inform the Comprehensive Spending Review and Strategic Defence and Security Review.Once the new fleet of SSBNs come into service, we expect that the in-service costs of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, which include the costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, basing and disposals, will be similar to the current system, at around six per cent of the defence budget.While we have no plans to replace the current Trident D5 missile, we are participating with our US partners in a programme to extend the current life to the 2060s. The estimated cost is around £250 million.

Trident

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what risk assessments his Department has made of the Successor submarine and Trident missile renewal programmes; and whether a further such risk assessment is planned to inform a final main gate decision.

Mr Philip Dunne: Ministry of Defence and Treasury officials are involved in scrutinising and assuring the costs and the levels of risk within the Successor submarine and Trident D5 missile life extension programmes, including before major investment decisions.

Russia: Central Asia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the recent announcement by President Putin of a Russia-led Central Asia taskforce, what assessment he has made of the security implications for (a) NATO and (b) the conflict against the Taliban.

Michael Fallon: We are aware of this statement. The Russians have not released any details of such a task force.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on that country's procurement of F35 aircraft.

Mr Philip Dunne: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence had regular discussions with the then Canadian Defence Minister, Jason Kenney, on a range of issues including procurement of F35 Aircraft. We look forward to engaging with the new Canadian Defence Ministers once appointed.

Military Bases: West Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military units are based at Baker Barracks on Thorney Island.

Mark Lancaster: 12 Regiment Royal Artillery, 16 Regiment Royal Artillery and 49 Battery Royal Artillery (an independent sub-unit of the Joint Ground Based Air Defence Regiment) are based at Baker Barracks.

Military Aircraft: Air Misses

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps have been taken by Air Command in response to the UK Airprox Board's recommendation that flying procedures be reviewed in the Machynlleth loop following a near-miss incident involving five aircraft on 27 August 2015.

Penny Mordaunt: I believe the hon. Member is referring to an incident that took place on 27 August 2014, in response to which the UK Airprox Board assessed no risk of collision existed.Following the UK Airprox Board's recommendation, a review of entry and exit procedures has been completed. No changes have been made as the RAF considered that changing the procedures would adversely affect flight safety. However, the UK Military Low Flying Handbook was updated to highlight to military aircrews that they should exercise caution when entering and exiting the Machynlleth Loop.

USA: Military Bases

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who is responsible for the oversight of US armed forces bases on UK soil.

Penny Mordaunt: The Ministry of Defence retains oversight of those UK military bases on UK territory which are made available for use by the US.

Syria: Military Intervention

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of crowded airspace on British military assets operating in Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The Coalition has implemented safe separation measures for aircraft operating in Syria and keeps the issue under constant review. In addition, we welcome the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the prevention of flight safety incidents between the US, acting on behalf of the global coalition, and Russia. UK aircraft operating over Syria as part of the coalition campaign against ISIL are following these safe separation measures and the procedures in the Memorandum of Understanding.

Syria: Military Intervention

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether armed forces personnel have received training for deployment to Syria.

Penny Mordaunt: Armed Forces personnel deploying on Operation SHADER - the name of the UK contribution to operations to counter ISIL - receive pre-deployment training appropriate to their role but are not deployed to Syria.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department were allocated to deal with representations from hon. Members to address constituents' concerns on 1 October (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013, (d) 2014 and (e) 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: Many staff across the Department spend a proportion of their time working on ministerial correspondence.

Disability: Equal Pay

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to close the pay gap between disabled workers and other workers.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. Work is an important part of this, which is why we committed to halving the disability employment gap in our manifesto – we want to ensure that many more disabled people who can and want to work have that opportunity.Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people (and other groups) from discrimination at work, including unequal pay (in relation to the disabled person's gender) and less favourable treatment, which may require the employer to provide a reasonable adjustment.The National Living Wage - which will ensure that all low wage workers, including those with disabilities, can take a greater share of the gains from growth - will come into force from 1 April 2016.Disability Confident works with an increasing number of employers to promote the benefits of employing disabled people, encouraging good practice, challenging prejudicial attitudes, increasing understanding of disability, removing barriers, and helping to ensure that disabled people have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.Access to Work provides support above and beyond employers’ reasonable adjustments. Every year, Access to Work supports tens of thousands of disabled workers to enter or retain employment and progress in their careers.

Personal Independence Payment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to increase the accuracy of initial personal independence payment (PIP) decision-making to address the rate of successful appeals of PIP.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department monitors the quality and accuracy of its decision making with a robust quality assurance framework where feedback is given to individual decision makers as required. When a decision is overturned by a tribunal, it does not necessarily mean that the original decision was incorrect. A reason for a decision being overturned could, for example, be the provision of additional written evidence that was not available to the original decision maker. That is why we reformed the system, with the introduction of mandatory reconsideration, which enables a further opportunity for evidence to be provided without need to go to appeal. Of course, the Tribunal can form a different view based on the same facts and medical evidence. We will continue to use feedback from the Tribunal to inform the Department’s approach to decision-making or consider onward challenge where that is appropriate.

Employment and Support Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people claiming, or applying for, Employment and Support Allowance, who are found fit for work, are then refused Jobseeker's Allowance because they are judged by Jobcentre Plus as being not fit for work.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that all Jobcentre Plus premises are fully accessible for people on the autism spectrum, in terms of both environment and staff awareness of autism; and what plans he has to evaluate the progress being made in achieving such accessibility.

Justin Tomlinson: We are committed to supporting all customers so that they are fully able to access our services, and will do this by assessing their individual needs and providing tailored support.We are continuing to progress the commitments detailed in the Think Autism Strategy and have undertaken a significant amount of work to improve our services for people with Autism/ Hidden Impairments. We are working with Autism Alliance UK to develop greater capacity when supporting people with autism; creating a more appropriate environment and supporting the identification of reasonable adjustment solutions.The Hidden Impairment Toolkit, which I have sponsored, is available to all DWP staff. This resource helps staff to better understand how to support people with autism and associated hidden impairment conditions. I have attached a copy of this for ease of reference.



Uncovering Hidden Impairments Toolkit
(PDF Document, 621.76 KB)

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Arts

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic benefit of investment in the arts over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government recognises the important contribution the arts makes to the economy, For every £1 of gross value added generated by the arts and culture industry, an additional £1.43 of gross added value is generated in the wider UK economy (The Contribution of the Arts and Culture to the National Economy,Centre for Economics and Business Research). Activities within arts and culture can provide direct employment to commercial creative industries organisations - the number of jobs in the creative industries sector is now 1.8 million.It is important to note that the contribution of arts is not just about the economic benefits, and there is also considerable evidence that culture has the capacity to improve health and wellbeing, educational attainment, and community cohesion.

Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department gives on the consequences to consumers of a data breach.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 is regulated and enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office which maintains guidance relating to the Act. Guidance on the consequences to customers of a data breach and the steps to take when informing customers about a data breach can be found at the ICO’s website https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-7-security/.It would be for the courts to decide how much compensation should be awarded to an individual who has suffered damage as a result of a data breach. The ICO’s website sets out guidance on compensation: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-6-rights/compensation/

Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department gives on (a) informing customers of data breaches and (b) how compensation for a data breach should be calculated.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 is regulated and enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office which maintains guidance relating to the Act. Guidance on the consequences to customers of a data breach and the steps to take when informing customers about a data breach can be found at the ICO’s website https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-7-security/.It would be for the courts to decide how much compensation should be awarded to an individual who has suffered damage as a result of a data breach. The ICO’s website sets out guidance on compensation: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-6-rights/compensation/

Home Office

Detention Centres

Mrs Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the findings of the follow-up audit of reports made under Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001.

James Brokenshire: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 22 October 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Stephen Shaw CBE, the former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales, has completed the review into the welfare of vulnerable immigration detainees which the Home Secretary asked him to conduct, and has recently submitted his report to Ministers at the Home Office and Department of Health. His findings are being carefully considered. The report will be published by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations. The Government intends to publish the Rule 35 audit alongside publication of Stephen Shaw’s report.

James Brokenshire: Stephen Shaw CBE, the former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales, has completed the review into the welfare of vulnerable immigration detainees which the Home Secretary asked him to conduct, and has recently submitted his report to Ministers at the Home Office and Department of Health. His findings are being carefully considered. The report will be published by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations. The Government intends to publish the Rule 35 audit alongside publication of Stephen Shaw’s report.

Counter-terrorism

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 11726, how many Prevent co-ordinators are employed in England and Wales.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 22 October 2015



The Home Office provides funding for the necessary numberof Prevent co-ordinators in priority areas. The list of areas is kept under review.

Religious Hatred: Islam

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission independent research into the causes of Islamophobia.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Surveillance

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood; and whether that hon. Member or her staff have been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Surveillance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communication of the hon. Member for Warrington North since her election; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Dependants

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for Adult Dependent Relative visas were refused in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012, (f) 2013 and (g) 2014.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Dependants

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people entered the UK on an Adult Dependent Relative visa in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012, (f) 2013 and (g) 2014.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Police: Trade Unions

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was paid by (a) the Police Federation, (b) UNISON and (c) other trades unions to each police constabulary in England in 2014.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Dependants

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who left the UK as a result of failing to obtain an Adult Dependent Relative visa for a relative in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012, (f) 2013 and (g) 2014.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Welfare Tax Credits

Graham Jones: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many mandatory reconsiderations for tax credits which were undertaken by Concentrix took (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven, (h) eight, (i) nine, (j) 10 and (k) more than 10 weeks in each year since that company has been contracted by the Department.

Mr David Gauke: The information requested is not available in the form requested.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that paper forms are more readily available to people who do not have computers who are required to fill in annual tax returns; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: I can confirm that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) customers can continue to choose whether to file their Self Assessment (SA) tax returns on paper or online. If a customer receives a Notice to File a SA tax return (SA316) but wishes instead to complete a paper SA return they can still do this. HMRC provides the customer with a Self Assessment Helpline number (0300 200 3310) on which they can talk through their needs with an adviser, and at their request HMRC will send out a paper return.

Children: Poverty

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of tax and benefit changes included in the Summer Budget 2015 on (a) relative and (b) absolute child poverty.

Harriett Baldwin: The intended impact of these reforms is to incentivise work, ensure work always pays, and then allow people to keep more of what they earn.We know that work is the best route out of poverty. Our new life chances measures will drive continued action on work and education, which will make the biggest difference to disadvantaged children – now and in the future.HMT's published distributional analysis shows that the proportion of welfare and public service spending which benefits poorer households has not changed since 2010-11, with half of all spending on welfare and public services still going to the poorest 40% of households in 2017-18. At the same time, the richest fifth of households will pay a greater proportion of taxes than in 2010-11 as a result of government policy – and more than all other households put together.The Government has carefully considered impacts with regard to all relevant legal obligations when formulating the welfare policies announced at the Summer Budget 2015.

Hostels: VAT

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the continuing viability of services offered by charities providing accommodation and life skills services to homeless adults, such as Caritas Anchor House in the London Borough of Newham, of unexpected demands for VAT payments arising out of the development of their premises; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: No assessment has been made.

Welfare Tax Credits: Hammersmith

Andy Slaughter: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families in Hammersmith constituency who are in work will lose money as a result of the proposed reductions in tax credits.

Harriett Baldwin: HMRC publishes information on households’ tax credit award in each constituency. The most recent available data can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. It means Britain moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society.A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.

Lone Parents: Personal Income

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate what the net income, including tax credits and child benefit, will be of a single parent with two children working 35 hours per week at the (a) national minimum wage and (b) National Living Wage in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Harriett Baldwin: By 2017-18, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the Personal Allowance, National Living Wage and welfare changes in this Budget. 17.7m households will benefit in total.The effect on any given household will depend on their specific circumstances. Treasury analysis in the Budget document shows that an example lone parent, who is renting, and works 35 hours on the minimum wage, will see their net income increase by over £1,500 by 2020-21 compared to 2015-16. This represents an increase in real terms.In order to help parents move into full time employment, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed in the Summer Budget that from September 2017, free childcare entitlement will be doubled from 15 hours to 30 hours a week for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds, an entitlement worth around £5,000 a year.

Welfare Tax Credits

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how many families are likely to be more than (a) £1,000, (b) £2,000, (c) £3,000 and (d) £4,000 worse off in 2016-17 compared with 2015-16 due to proposed reductions in tax credit.

Harriett Baldwin: The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. It means Britain moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society.A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.

Welfare Tax Credits

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the introduction of proposed reductions in tax credits is not being phased in.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare economy to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. By 2017-18, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the personal allowance, living wage and welfare changes in the Summer Budget.The Tax Credit changes are being phased in in two stages. The taper, threshold and income disregard will change from April 2016. The changes to the Child Element and Family Element in Child Tax Credit will come into effect from April 2017.

Welfare Tax Credits: Email

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make provision for a dedicated email address by which hon. Members can raise constituents' concerns on tax credit claims.

Damian Hinds: HMRC runs three hotlines to help MPs - and their staff - deal quickly and efficiently with constituent issues and concerns. These include a dedicated hotline on Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit: 03000 135001, which is available from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. MPs can also email constituents’ queries on tax credits claims to HMRC's Ministerial Correspondence team. It can be contacted at the following address: correspondence-team.mincom@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

Revenue and Customs: Preston

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which hon. Members have been invited to visit the tax credit office in Preston since June 2010.

Harriett Baldwin: HMRC has not invited any hon. Members to visit the Tax Credit Office in Preston since June 2010.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Renewable Energy

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is her policy to increase the proportion of energy in the UK generated from renewable sources.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 22 October 2015



By 2020, the UK is legally committed to obtain 15% of its final energy consumption from renewable sources under the EU Renewable Energy Directive. We continue to make progress towards our target with provisional figures showing 7.0% of final energy consumption came from renewable sources in 2014. A strong start was made to 2015 with over a quarter of electricity generation coming from renewable sources in Q2 2015, up 8.6% from Q2 2014.Electricity generation from renewable sources, in 2014, was at 19.1% compared to 14.9% in 2013; renewable heat sources accounted for 4.8% of total heat demand in 2014; and fuel suppliers are already required to meet a 4.75% renewable transport fuel obligation by ensuring that sustainable biofuel is supplied.Since 2010, DECC estimates that over £42 billion of private capital has been secured in low-carbon electricity generation projects and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), spread geographically across the UK. 2014 was a record year for investment in renewable energy generation with over £8 billion being invested.

National Grid: Weather

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the expected capacity margin of the National Grid during winter 2015-16.

Andrea Leadsom: National Grid has recently published their Winter Outlook Report with a capacity margin of 5.1% for winter 2015-16.National Grid continually assesses the risks to security of supply and system stability across GB. They have confirmed they have all the tools they need to manage the system this winter.

Electricity: Weather

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has received on the probability of electricity shortages during winter 2015-16; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Ensuring that hardworking families and businesses across the country have secure, affordable energy supplies they can rely on is our top priority.National Grid has recently published their Winter Outlook Report with a capacity margin of 5.1% for winter 2015-16.National Grid continually assesses the risks to security of supply and system stability across GB. They have confirmed they have all the tools they need to manage the system this winter.

UN Climate Change Conference

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the Government's aims are for the forthcoming Paris Climate Summit; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: Energy

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the average domestic energy bill in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham, (c) London and (d) England in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC collect and publish data on energy bills by Public Supply Region (PES). Data by parliamentary constituency or borough is not available. As the data is collected by PES region, bill estimates are only available for England and Wales combined.The table below shows the average annual domestic energy bill for London and England and Wales. Bill estimates are shown for the years 2010 and 2014, the most recent data available, and are based on fixed consumption levels of 3,800kWh/year for electricity and 15,000 kWh/year for gas. The bills provided are averaged across all methods of payment and expressed in cash terms.LondonEngland and Wales ElectricityGasCombinedElectricityGasCombined2010£481£575£1,056£469£566£1,0352014£589£781£1,370£589£753£1,342

Northern Ireland Office

LGBT People: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the level of inequalities experienced by LGBTI people in Northern Ireland.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, a non-departmental public body established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, is responsible for equality issues in Northern Ireland.The Commission is sponsored by the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (OFMdFM). The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland or OFMdFM would be best placed to provide an assessment of the level of inequality experienced by LGBTI people in Northern Ireland.

Stormont House Agreement

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she has taken to establish on a statutory basis an Implementation and Reconciliation Group as proposed in the Stormont House Agreement.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government intends to introduce the Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill to Parliament soon. This Bill will deliver on a number of key commitments in the Stormont House Agreement related to addressing the legacy of the Troubles. It will create the legislative framework for: the Historical Investigations Unit, the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval, and an Oral History Archive.Another of the key commitments in the Agreement is the establishment of the Implementation and Reconciliation Group (IRG). It is not currently envisaged that the IRG will be included in the Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill, but the UK Government stands ready to assist on matters related to the IRG if requested to do so by the Northern Ireland parties.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

EU Presidency: Malta

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11059, whether officials in her Department have discussed with representatives of Malta the chairing of environment sessions during the Maltese Presidency of the European Union in 2017.

Rory Stewart: Officials from Defra, along with officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, have held preliminary discussions with representatives from Malta on support for chairing meetings during the Maltese Presidency of the European Union. These discussions are ongoing.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department will pay for the cost of traps used in the trial badger culls.

George Eustice: While cull companies are encouraged to be self-sufficient in procuring their own equipment, Defra has loaned cull companies a number of traps from its existing stocks, which are used for a number of projects. All cage traps loaned must be returned on completion of culls.

Department of Health

Mental Health Services: Devon

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of referral times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service appointments in Plymouth and Devon; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any such assessment. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning services locally. Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG states that their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service provider met their locally agreed target of 70% of referrals being within 18 weeks by March 2015. There has been a significant reduction in the number of children and young people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment at the same time as a 20% increase in referral rates. Discussion has been ongoing to understand the capacity and resources needed to meet the full contract target of 95% of patients being seen within 18 weeks.On 3 August 2015, NHS England published guidance, developed with partners across the system, to CCGs for developing their Local Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health with their local partners, in line with the proposal in Future in mind. These plans will be developed by CCGs working closely with their Health and Wellbeing Boards and partners from across the National Health Service (including NHS England Specialised Commissioning), Public Health, Local Authority, Youth Justice and Education sectors. The plans will clearly articulate the local offer and cover the whole spectrum of services for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, from health promotion and prevention work, to support and interventions for those who have existing or emerging mental health problems, as well as transition between services.

Care Quality Commission

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the Care Quality Commission's recent progress in meeting its inspection programme's targets.

Ben Gummer: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. The CQC is an executive non-departmental public body accountable to the Secretary of State for the efficient and effective discharge of its functions, duties and powers. The Department monitors CQC’s financial and operational performance and risks, including progress with recruitment of inspectors, at a general and strategic level through regular formal and informal accountability meetings. Ministers and the Permanent Secretary also hold regular meetings with the Chair and Chief Executive of the CQC and its Chief Inspectors.The CQC has advised that it expects the inspections of NHS acute hospitals to be completed as planned by the end of March 2016 and the inspections of the remaining NHS Hospitals by June 2016. Further planning is required for the independent health sectors to enable the December 2016 commitments to be met.The CQC is currently behind the planned trajectories to have rated all adult social care and general practitioners and out of hours services by 30 September 2016. The time it has taken to both recruit the required numbers of inspectors and to ensure they are fully trained to conduct inspections has contributed to the current position. The CQC is considering what steps it can take to bring the programme back on track.

Care Quality Commission: Vacancies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has held with the Care Quality Commission's Head of Inspection on the number of vacant posts in the Commission's inspection teams.

Ben Gummer: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. The CQC is an executive non-departmental public body accountable to the Secretary of State for the efficient and effective discharge of its functions, duties and powers. The Department monitors CQC’s financial and operational performance and risks, including progress with recruitment of inspectors, at a general and strategic level through regular formal and informal accountability meetings. Ministers and the Permanent Secretary also hold regular meetings with the Chair and Chief Executive of the CQC and its Chief Inspectors.

Out-patients

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of patients being offered a choice of outpatient facility by their GPs.

Ben Gummer: We are committed to giving patients more choice and control over their health care, as this can help drive up standards and improve patient care.As set out in the Five Year Forward View, the health system is focused on embedding patient choice and, as part of this, NHS England is working to secure improvements in awareness and uptake of choice across physical and mental health services.In addition, we have asked NHS England to come up with proposals, before the end of the year, to make sure there is choice and control over services offered in maternity and end-of-life care, as well as for those with long-term conditions.

Cancer

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the recommendations set out in the NHS England report Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015-2020 are implemented without delay.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations to improve cancer outcomes set out in the new five-year strategy of the Independent Cancer Taskforce.As part of putting in place a governance structure for delivery of the strategy, NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead the implementation of the strategy, as well as new cancer vanguards using outcomes-based commissioning to redesign care and patient experience. Ms Palmer is Chief Executive of the Royal Marsden Hospital.The Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report outlines that earlier diagnosis could contribute to saving a further 11,000 lives per year.Our announcement of a commitment that by 2020, National Health Service patients will be given a definitive cancer diagnosis or the all clear within 28 days of being referred by a general practitioner, means that patients, particularly those with harder to diagnose cancers, will be diagnosed faster and the period of anxiety while waiting will be reduced.

Dental Services

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the availability of NHS dentist places in (a) High Peak constituency, (b) Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group and (c) Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary and secondary care dental services to meet local need. NHS England advises that oral health needs assessments for general dentistry are being conducted for areas that include Tameside and Glossop and Derbyshire.Overall, access continues to increase with the latest access data showing 30 million patients were seen by a dentist in the 24 month period ending 30 June 2015. This is 1.7 million more patients than May 2010.There is further to go, and this is why the Government is committed to increasing access still further through reform of the dental contract to incentivise dentists to focus on prevention as well as treatment and, by seeing patients at intervals appropriate to their clinical need, freeing up spaces for additional patients to be seen.

Respiratory System: Diseases

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will roll out a national breathlessness campaign to follow the pilots in the North and East of England.

Jane Ellison: The regional pilot of the breathlessness campaign was carried out in the East of England 2 February – 1 March 2015. The evaluation of the campaign is ongoing.

Social Services

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that carers are able to give each patient an appropriate amount of time on visits.

Alistair Burt: In most cases, very short visits from care workers are incompatible with high quality care. However, short visits may be appropriate in certain circumstances. For instance, checking medication has been taken.Local authorities are responsible for the commissioning of services, not the Government but both Government and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) agree that inappropriately short home care visits are unacceptable.The Care Act sends a clear message that commissioning services without properly considering the impact on people’s wellbeing is unacceptable.In September 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines on homecare which state that homecare visits should not normally be less than 30 minutes long. The Department published statutory guidance to the Care Act which directs local authorities when commissioning to consider national standards including NICE guidelines.Further, the Department worked with ADASS and the Local Government Association (LGA) to produce a framework of standards, ‘Commissioning for Better Outcomes’ which explicitly states that inappropriate use of short visits is not compatible with best practice. The framework is designed to support local authorities to improve their commissioning practices using self-assessment and peer challenge through the LGA’s programme of sector-led improvement.

Social Services: Training

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department intends to establish or encourage national training schemes for care providers to ensure consistency in care provision across the sector.

Ben Gummer: The introduction of the Care Certificate, a recommendation of the Cavendish Review, will help to improve the consistency of training in the sector. As of 1 April 2015, all new social care support workers and healthcare assistants are expected to attain the new Care Certificate within their first twelve weeks of employment.The Department funds Skills for Care, the partner in the sector skills council for social care, to produce a range of resources for workers to develop the knowledge to support people who use the services. This includes the apprenticeships programme which is important in growing a consistently skilled workforce providing high quality care for the future.

Autism: Diagnosis

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (a) children and (b) adults meet NICE guidance.

Mr Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon was in each of the last three years.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that primary care records accurately record the number of (a) children and (b) adults with a diagnosis of autism.

Alistair Burt: The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations. Information on the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon in each of the last three years is not collected centrally.General practitioners (GPs) are required to keep adequate records of their attendance on, and treatment of, their patients and this should include details of autism where it is known. For this to work successfully locally services undertaking autism diagnosis should pass information back to the GP who has made the original referral. This is outlined in the recent Autism Statutory Guidance for local authorities and the NHS.

Detention Centres: Health Services

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he made of the effect of NHS England taking over responsibility for commissioning health services within the immigration detention estate in England on the adequacy of health provision within that estate.

Ben Gummer: In 2014 Health and Wellbeing Needs Assessments were carried out at all Immigration Removal Centres to ascertain the needs of the detainees, which in turn informed the quality and standard of services commissioned by NHS England, from 1 September 2014, to meet those needs.National standards have been developed, against which health care providers are measured as part of contract management. A suite of indicators of performance are now in place to support this and to provide national data to demonstrate improvements in service delivery and outcomes.

Skin Cancer: Drugs

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure NHS melanoma patients are able to access nivolumab before its appraisal by NICE.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising nivolumab for Melanoma (advanced, unresectable, metastatic) - [ID845], and the anticipated publication date for its final guidance is May 2016. Further information is available on NICE’s website at:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-tag515In the absence of NICE guidance, funding decisions for individual treatments should be made by the relevant National Health Service commissioner, based on an assessment of the available evidence. Commissioners are also required to have processes in place for the consideration of exceptional funding requests. NHS England is responsible for commissioning chemotherapy in England and has advised that it will not usually develop a commissioning policy on treatments which are undergoing NICE appraisal. Nivolumab is undergoing assessment and is not yet routinely funded for patients.

Cardiovascular System: Surgery

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of training a consultant in vascular surgery.

Ben Gummer: The Department does not hold information on the average cost to the taxpayer of training someone to become a consultant in vascular surgery.The Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent estimates within their report ‘Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2014’, published March 2014 (latest data available), that the average cost in 2013/14 of consultant training to be £726,551. These figures reflect the pre-registration costs of tuition, living expenses/lost production and clinical placements and the post-graduate costs of tuition and replacement costs not the average cost to the taxpayer.

Nurses: Welfare Tax Credits

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of nurses that are eligible for tax credits.

Ben Gummer: This information is not collected centrally. Eligibility for tax credits is dependent on individual circumstances and income, including for example the financial circumstances of any partner.

Health Professions: Training

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to replace bursaries for nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare services tuition with student loans; and if he will make a statement.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) universities, (b) healthcare professionals and (c) the Royal Colleges on replacing bursaries for nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare service tuition with student loans.

Ben Gummer: The Department has received a number of representations from organisations, including Royal Colleges, professional bodies and representatives of universities, about a number of issues relating to healthcare student education funding in England including a potential move from the current system of funding to student loans.No decisions have been taken on any changes to the funding of health care education and training in England. The Department will consider all of its expenditure as part of the Spending Review. The Government will announce the outcome of the Spending Review on 25 November 2015.

Doctors

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information Health Education England holds on the number and proportion of doctors who completed their foundation training and are (a) not working in the NHS and (b) working abroad in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Gummer: Health Education England does not hold this information.

NHS: Working Hours

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of additional (a) nurses and (b) doctors required to deliver seven-day working in the NHS.

Ben Gummer: It will be for local providers and their Local Education and Training Boards to develop workforce plans for delivering seven day services in hospitals which will make the best use of staff skills and expertise. Current levels of service provision at weekends currently vary between hospitals. There may be additional staff needed, including doctors, and the Department is working with NHS England and Health Education England to make sure we have the workforce we need, including looking at new working patterns and roles such as physician associates.

Pregnant Women: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the net change has been in the number of inpatient perinatal mental health beds since 2010.

Alistair Burt: Since 2010 there has been a net reduction of mother and baby units from 17 units to 15 units.

Pregnant Women: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many perinatal mental health admissions there were in each financial year since 2009-10.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is in the table. It shows the count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of a mental health issue associated with the puerperium in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14.Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sectorYearCount of FAEs2009-102782010-113072011-122672012-133252013-14325Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information CentreNote: An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

Pregnant Women: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many in-patient mother and baby units specialising in psychiatric care during the perinatal period there were in (a) 2010 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available; and which such units were open in (i) 2010 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: The number and location of mother and baby units in 2010 and 2015, as supplied by NHS England, are detailed in the tables.Mother and Baby Units open in 2010:Newcastle Beadnell Ward, St George’s Park, Morpeth, NorthumberlandLeeds Mother and Baby Unit, Leeds Partnership Foundation TrustManchester Anderson Ward, Wythenshawe HospitalNottingham Perinatal Psychiatric Services, Perinatal Inpatient UnitDerby Mother and Baby Psychiatric Unit, Derby City General, Uttoxeter Rd, DerbyLeicester Mother and Baby Unit, Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital (closed 2014)Stafford Brockington Mother and Baby Unit, St George’s Hospital FoundationBirmingham Mother and Baby Unit, Queen Elizabeth HospitalWelwyn Garden Thumbswood, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Howlands, WelwynHackney Mother and Baby Unit, Mermaid Ward, City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health, Homerton Hospital, Homerton RowNorth Middlesex Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Coombe Wood Annexe, Park Royal Centre for Mental HealthBeckenham Mother and Baby Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Rd, Beckenham, KentBristol New Horizon Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead HospitalBasingstoke Fairways House, Parklands Hospital (Moved to Winchester in 2013)The Eastbourne Clinic Mother and Baby Unit, Eastbourne, East Sussex (this unit was open in 2010 but not referenced in report closed 2014)Mother and Baby Unit, Godden Green Clinic, Godden Green, Sevenoaks, Kent (closed in 2010)York Mother and Baby Unit, Bootham Park Hospital (closed temporarily in 2010 and remained closed)Source: National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report 2010Mother and Baby units open in 2015Beadnell Mother and Baby Unit, MorpethLeeds Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Mother and Baby UnitManchester Mother and Baby UnitNottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust Perinatal Psychiatric ServicesDerby Mother and Baby Unit, Derby City GeneralBrockington Mother and Baby Unit, St. George’s Hospital, StaffordBarberry Mother and Baby Unit, BirminghamThumbswood Mother and Baby Unit, WelwynRainbow Mother and Baby Unit, Chelmsford (new unit opened 2013)Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit, Homerton HospitalCoombe Wood Mother and Baby Unit, Coombe Wood, LondonSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Mother and Baby UnitThe New Horizon Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead Hospital, BristolWinchester Mother and Baby Unit, Royal Hampshire County HospitalFlorence House Mother and Baby unit, Bournemouth (new unit opened 2013)Source: NHS England National ERG Report 2015

Pregnant Women: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many perinatal mental health specialist midwives were in place in each financial year since 2009-10.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many perinatal mental health specialist (a) doctors and (b) nurses were in place in each year since 2009-10.

Ben Gummer: The information is not collected.Perinatal mental health specialist midwives, doctors and nurses are not identified separately in the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s workforce statistics. Mental health specialists work predominantly in psychiatric services but also across a range of settings and the independent sector.

Junior Doctors: Working Hours

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on patients' safety of removing working hours safeguards from junior doctors' contract.

Ben Gummer: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear his strong commitment to ensuring safe working in the National Health Service to support his ambition for the NHS to become the safest health care system in the world.This includes guaranteeing that a new contract for junior doctors will not impose longer hours and that contractual safeguards will be strengthened - so that some junior doctors work less. For example:- No junior doctor will be contractually required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week;- The provisions of the Working Time Regulations will continue to apply, and even those who choose to opt-out (legally allowing them to work longer) will be limited to an average of 56 hours a week;- Maximum of 72 hours in any week (lower than the current 91 possible under legislation;- No shift rostered to exceed 13 hours;- No more than five long shifts consecutively (long=more than 10 hours);- No more than four night shifts consecutively (where at least three hours fall between 11pm and 6am; and- No more than seven consecutive on-call periods.To further support safety, a system of agreed work scheduling and reviews will be introduced which will give junior doctorsa contractual right to report exceptions where his or her day-to-day work varies from the work schedule. This includes concerns about hours spent in work (including rest breaks), or the agreed working pattern (including time made available for educational opportunities).The contract will require the employer to assess any issues as they arise, and make timely adjustments through a ‘work schedule review’. In exceptional approved circumstances, doctors would be compensated for hours worked outside their work schedule.

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of junior doctors who may leave the UK to work abroad as a result of the introduction of a new contract by the Government.

Ben Gummer: Many junior doctors spend a period of time working abroad before returning to complete their training in the National Health Service. This is something that can bring benefits back to the NHS. A final contract offer has not yet been made to junior doctors, but there will be no provisions designed to provide reason to increase the numbers of junior doctors working abroad.The proposals for contract reform are about introducing a more professional and fairer contract for junior doctors that supports patient care, and supports doctors through their training. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State, in his letter of 8 October to Dr Johann Malawana, Chair of the junior doctors Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), set out a series of cast iron guarantees for Junior Doctors about the reforms. The letter outlined his ambition to reduce, not increase, the number of hours junior doctors work, and committed to stronger safeguards to protect doctors and patients.It also guaranteed that no savings will be made from the contract and that average pay will be maintained, and outlined how the Department wants Health Education England and the Royal Colleges to work with the BMA and NHS Employers to look at how the training experience can be improved.

Mental Health Services: Homelessness

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the ability of homeless people to access mental health services; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness report Addressing complex needs – improving services for vulnerable people (2015) highlighted the strong link between homelessness and poor mental health, and the high rates of mental health problems and substance misuse among the homeless population. Homeless people often have multiple health needs and the report showed how vulnerable people can become trapped in a cycle of homelessness because of their overlapping and complex problems.Fairer access to all health services – including for vulnerable groups like homeless people – is at the heart of the health inequalities duties in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.Improving access to primary care services for homeless people and providing services in non-clinical environments can also help to enable homeless people to receive the services they need. This includes self-referral to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.We are sponsoring schemes that help local areas address these complex mental and physical health needs faced by homeless people and improve service access. These include the £8 million Help for Single Homeless programme, which includes projects to prevent rough sleeping, and help homeless young people with mental health issues, as well as the Department’s Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund and Homelessness Change/Platform for Life programmes. Public Health England is working with local authorities to help them understand better the mental health needs of homeless people.